


Dead End

by HPFandom_archivist



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Explicit Language, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Romance, Sexual Content, Tragedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-05-09
Updated: 2006-08-18
Packaged: 2018-10-01 13:49:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 9
Words: 12,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10191302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HPFandom_archivist/pseuds/HPFandom_archivist
Summary: Moony realizes he has a crush on Sirius. Will he ever tell him? And how the war around might interfere? Read to know. MWPP. SLASH! SBRL, JPLE





	1. Revelation

**Author's Note:**

> Note from SeparatriX, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [HP Fandom](http://fanlore.org/wiki/HP_Fandom_\(archive\)), which was closed for health and financial reasons. To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in August 2016. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [HP Fandom collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/hpfandom/profile).

Disclaimer: I know how surprised everyone will be after hearing this, but, NO, I do NOT own Harry Potter or its characters. Also, I am NOT having any profit as a result of using them in this story.

Revelation

The summer night was so hot! No, he couldn’t still be in the same continent. Somehow, he must’ve been teleported to the Sahara Desert, or maybe to India, or somewhere like that. He couldn’t beat southern Scotland, in his house. But when the 16-year-old Remus Lupin opened his eyes he was still in his small room, in the house his parents had such a hard time to keep. Well, he guessed having a werewolf for a son didn’t help either… Waves of pure guilt made him shake uncontrollably for a couple of seconds: it was his fault. Having to buy new clothes so often, having to buy every now and then new iron restrains, for the ones he used when he came home in the full moon invariably got torn apart.

Still, (amazingly, he thought) Remus had friends. The best friends he could ever hope for. James Potter, captain of Gryffindor’s Quidditch team; Peter Pettigrew, an untalented yet very nice young wizard and Sirius Black, the most popular guy in school, who was always very sweet to Remus. Together, the four of them were the Marauders. And, in the third year when they discovered of Remus’s lycanthropy, they decided to become animagi to help their friend through his difficult transformation. Finally, last year they succeeded, and each was rechristened (at least for one another) with a name regarding their animal forms: James, the deer was Prongs. Peter, the rat, was Wormtail. He, the werewolf, was Moony. Sirius, the dog, was Padfoot.

Yes, Sirius was Padfoot. His shiny and soft black hair was copied to the dog’s hair and his gray eyes too, they were in his dog form. Oh, how both of them were beautiful, both the dog and the man. He wished he could spend his life caressing their hair…

“For Merlin’s sake, what the fucking hell am I thinking?” Remus was shocked, to the point of swearing (which was always a worrying event whether from his mouth or in his thoughts). “Now, I can think like this about Sirius! He is my brother! My best friend!” He was speaking it as to make the images disappear from his mind. “My very best friend! OK, you know what, its time to go to sleep, you’re getting too hyperactive!” he said to his own brain, and closed his eyes.

* * *

“Moony, I love you so much! Please be mine!”

“You… You love me?” he asked in disbelief.

“Always have.”

“But you never gave a hint!”

“Oh, come on! What about those times I held your hand after the nightmares? And when I stayed in the dorm taking care of you when you got that flu, and it was a Wednesday! OK, maybe I liked cutting the classes too, but that’s not all there was to it! You really didn’t see these as signs?”

“Pad, I waited for this for so long!”

“So have I… I am yours, forever!” Sirius said, kissing him violently, like there’s no tomorrow.

“Mmmm” Remus moaned, and in an intense surge of pleasure, he woke up from his first wet dream. And definitely, the dream was not the only thing wet around there.

Moony stayed there, breathing heavily, completely frozen, sweating heavily. His hazel eyes were as wide as they ever were, and his light brown hair was soaked in sweat. When he could finally move, after a few minutes, the revelation fell on his head like a very heavy brick.

“Oh my fucking Merlin! I’m in love with Sirius!”

* * *

Please review! this is my first fic, after all.


	2. Close Calls

Close Calls

As his mother held him tight to side-apparate with him at platform 9 ¾, Remus Lupin was shaking slightly but steadily. Ever since he realized his feelings for Sirius Black, he hadn’t been the same. Ever since that horrible, yet amazingly good dream with Padfoot, he felt a pain deep in his chest that had nothing to do with the recent scar that was still healing there. How could he be so stupid? How could he fall for the most... the most... beautiful, incredible and sexy guy of Hogwarts? _No! Stop thinking that!_ Remus said to himself, in vain.

Suddenly he felt his chest being crushed (and, for once, that had nothing to do with a certain black-haired and -named boy) and his legs heavy and at the same time so light. His eyes were being pulled out of their orbits, and his tongue was being forced into his throat; then, as quickly as it has started it was gone. Remus opened his eyes, only to see a red train, spilling dense white smoke everywhere: the Hogwarts Express. His mother hastily let him go: she didn’t like touching him more than necessary. Then, without so much as a word, she disapparated. So much for unconditional love…

_Good! There’s no Marauder around. Maybe I should just get a cabin with someone else…_

“Remus! Hey, Remus” someone called. He turned his head around to see whom. I was Lilly Evans.

“Hello, Lilly! Good summer?” he asked, his voice having hints of both relief and disappointment.

“With my sister in the house? No, dear Remus, hell has not frozen yet…” she said, mockingly, to which Moony nodded and grinned. “We should go Remmie, the Head-Boy and -Girl will give us instructions!”

“What are you talking about Lilly?”

“Are you sure you’re alright? Are you still on Earth! At least now I know why they call you ‘Moony’. Now, tell me, you fake Marauder, how could you forget that we are now Prefects of Gryffindor?” Lilly said, exasperated.

“Let’s just say I have a lot going on lately.” He said, embarrassed. He actually did forget he was named prefect. “OK, we should talk later. Lets just get in the cabin and receive the instructions, all right?”

Lilly nodded, worried. Remus face and voice were bitter and even a little aggressive when he said that. And that was not like Remus. Not at all. Maybe he had a really bad full moon in the summer. _I’m glad he at least told me of his lycanthropy last year. Not that I didn’t already knew, it was a little bit obvious to anyone who actually knew him_. Of course that other than the Marauders and herself, she could think of none.

They walked for a while before reaching the assigned cabin, the first one of the train. Meanwhile a heavy silence had settled between Remus and Lilly. Neither one knew what to say: he was ashamed about the way he talked to her; she couldn’t find a way to express her concern so that he would also tell her what was really going on. Remus interrupted Lilly’s thoughts then, opening the door and waving at the cabin.

“After you,” he said, politely.

“Thanks,” she replied. _God, I wish James was this polite with me._

“Sorry, did you say something? Maybe about a boy with black, spiked hair.” She denied with her head, which brought Remus to say, mockingly, but still softly, “Lilly, next time try to see if your mouth moves when you’re thinking. I could read your lips perfectly well. You should give ’im a chance, he really likes you. And this is **me** talking, you know **I** wouldn’t lie to you in his behalf.”

“I know that. It’s just… well… He’s just dated so many girls, I don’t wanna be just another conquest,” Lilly said this so sadly that Remus felt sorry for her. But still, Prongs hadn’t dated anyone in almost two years, expecting Lilly would see he’d changed. He opened his mouth to say so, but was interrupted by someone.

“Well, enough with talking amongst yourselves” said a good-looking seventh year boy. Lilly recognized him as Amos Diggory, Head-Boy and a hufflepuff.

“Welcome, new and old prefects”, said a girl with a very soft voice. Remus remembered seeing her a few times at the Gryffindor tower, so he assumed she was a Gryffindor. “You are here to learn or be reminded of your duties as Hogwart’s most trusted students. First things first: you are to patrol the corridors of this train. Each house has six prefects, us included. And each group of prefects will patrol for a quarter of the trip, in this order: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Slytherin and Ravenclaw.”

“At Hogwarts,” Diggory started speaking again, “you will receive the password for entering your Common rooms and dormitories. It is your duty to guide the first year students through Hogwarts in this first day. You must guide them to their respective dormitories. I must also remind you that you are free to penalize students with detentions, but they must be approved by the head of your house. I should also tell you…”

Now Lilly really stopped listening. She already knew all that. She noticed that Remus was staring blankly at Diggory, obviously thinking himself that there was no point in paying attention, his mind certainly drifting towards the source of his problems: his face was flickering between a wide grin and an angry pressed-lips face.

When the speech was finally over, Lilly and Remus paired and went to patrol a corridor in the back of the train. Seeing the silence setting again among them, the girl decided to break it.

“Uh… Remus? What’s wrong with you? I mean, you usually talk so much and now you are so quiet.”

“Are you saying I don’t stop talking? Well, that’s because you don’t share a room with Sirius and James. Really, it seems as if the world would end if they ever shut up,” he said. Lilly noticed that he closed his eyes a bit to long for a simple blink in Sirius’ name.

“First of all, I just meant that after having none to talk to during summer, you usually talk a lot, but then goes back to your quiet self,” Lilly said, a bit harshly, “second, you didn’t answer my question! Now if you just don’t wanna talk about it, fine, say so. Don’t dodge, Remus John Lupin!”

Remus stopped. Lilly overreacted. And that’s not like her. “What is the matter Lilly?” he decided to say, softly, not to annoy her even more. “You are a bit touchy, and that’s not like you. If you have any problem, you know you can talk to me about it, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I know. You see, it’s my sister. This time she really pissed me off. She was lucky I haven’t turned 17. She said I was a complete freak, that she was disgusted and she wished she didn’t have a sister,” by this point Lilly was sobbing, “and how she thought I was the filthiest living being on Earth. And she said all that on my birthday! Why Remus? When I’m in the muggle world I’m a freak, and when I’m in the wizarding world, I’m a mudblood!”

Remus saw that there was an empty cabin beside them and entered it, holding Lilly, who just snuggled closer to his chest and cried her heart out.

A couple of hours later, Lilly had cried herself to sleep, and the werewolf was just caressing her hair slowly. The other Marauders decided to appear, and James, seeing Lilly on Remus’ lap, immediately became upset and ignored the friend. Lilly woke up shortly afterward and sat up, thanking Remus silently.

James was still very upset, so Remus decided to apologize. He opened his mouth but Lilly was faster and told him the whole situation, and said that if James ever doubted the lycanthrope’s friendship again, she would never talk to him again. That made him come to his senses, and he apologized so sincerely that Remus gave him a quick hug.

Another hour had past now, and most of the Marauders were sleeping. Remus was the only one up. Sirius was sitting on his right. Remus was watching him. Eventually, he didn’t resist and touched Sirius’ lip with his index finger slightly. Lilly saw it all and raised an eyebrow.

_Shit_ , he thought. “It was… dirty with chocolate, Lilly. That’s why I had to clean them,” he quickly made up, his heart racing. _Get away from him, Remus_ , the werewolf thought. _You’re having enough close calls with Lilly._

R&R!


	3. The Midnight Express

**Disclaimer** : I know how surprised everyone will be after hearing this, but, NO, I do NOT own Harry Potter or its characters. Also, I am NOT having any profit as a result of using them in this story.

* * *

**The Midnight Express**

Remus woke up cold. Very cold. He remembered falling asleep in the Hogwarts Express some minutes before its ETA. But it was dark outside now; and, still, he was in the cabin. No, **they** were in the cabin. Himself, the marauders and Lilly. The lycanthrope looked around: the other marauders were still asleep, but were moving a lot; Sirius was actually shaking. Lilly was wide-awake, but crying.

“Uh, Lilly?” She looked up, startled, “Why are we not at Hogwarts? Do you know what time is it?”

“It’s a-almost midnight,” she said through her tears. “I have no idea wh-why we are not there yet. But it’s so cold... and I can’t stop thinking about what Petunia said; and about the times the Slytherins call me mudblood. I-I...” she was still sobbing.

“It’s OK, Lilly. Actually, I was having the worst nightmare. It was about...” he started to think quickly. Actually, his nightmare was about Sirius rejecting him, saying he hated him and he was disgusting. And then it changed to a memory of the day he was bitten. _Better stick with the latter._ “... the day I was bitten. I don’t know why, but I can’t stop thinking about it either,” he said sadly. “But we mustn’t worry,” Remus’ voice was reassuring now. “Dumbledore won’t leave us here. He would never do that. I’m sure we will see him soon enough!”

“You are right. I-I must stop crying,” Lilly was trying to control herself. Her voice was steadier. “Still, this is very weird. I thought I was already... Ahh... Over the stuff my sister told me. At least after I cried in your shoulder. And I always ignored what those disgusting Slytherins said to me.”

Lilly started thinking. It was true, she didn’t **like** being called mudblood, but she never really cared. And she **was** over the incident with Petunia, wasn’t she? Hadn’t her sister done worst things to her? And after a few hours were those things not forgotten (if not forgiven)? _Well this is odd. This is so very odd. Remus looks tired. I hope the full moon isn’t close._ And with that thought she got up and automatically looked through the window.

Lilly had taken a few steps back, in shock. _What the hell!_ Remus thought catching the girl before she fell. He himself then looked through the window...

There was a battle happening outside. Jets of red, blue and green light were flying around. He was able to catch a glimpse of Prof. McGonagall fighting two masked people.

“Oh, my dear Merlin!” Remus and Lilly hissed together.

“They are dark wizards!” Lilly said, appalled.

“Yes, they are, Lil,” Remus answered, rather calmly. _Dark wizards attacked the train. That would explain why I fell asleep even though I was nowhere near sleepy._ But what about the nightmares? It wasn’t just him, Sirius, James and Peter were clearly not dreaming of the angels in heaven!

The epiphany the werewolf had made him drop himself in the seat. _Yes, it would suit them right! Fighting alongside those dark wizards that, by the way, must be the so-called Death Eaters, commanded by the so-called Lord Voldemort._

“Uhn, Remus? What is it?” Lilly asked, afraid of the answer.

“It’s obvious isn’t it? Why did we not think of this sooner!” Lilly’s face was puzzled; she had no idea what he was talking about. “Think, Lilly! Who is a dark wizard powerful enough to stop this train! Who has followers powerful enough to take on the teachers of Hogwarts? Who has reasons to stop a train full of under-aged wizards, many of them muggle-born?” He was a little impatient now.

“But- He was supposed to be… You can’t mean that… Voldemort?” He shook his head affirmatively. “They want to kill us! They want to kill **me**!”

“Well, I’m sure he won’t like ‘filthy half-breeds’ like myself so much either. And have you realized why we are having these terrible thoughts and nightmares?” the lycanthrope asked again.

“Ahn… No way! They were supposed to be under the ministry’s control! They should be in Azkaban!” Lilly said, now definitely terrified.

“Well, Voldemort must be promising them more space than the Minister can.” Lupin said, wisely. “Come on, we must be the only students up in this train. We must help, at least try to scare those creatures away! Do you know how to conjure a-?”

“Yeah!” She cut him. “But I think we’d better perform the spell while still here. If they are in the corridors we’ll be able to take them by surprise.” Her friend nodded. “Fine, together, then…”

“ **Expecto Patronum!** ” they said at the same time. Lilly’s patronus took the form of a falcon, while Remus’, to his disbelief, took the form of an enormous grim: Padfoot.

“So much for being dirty with chocolate.” Lilly said smiling at the werewolf, when she saw his patronus, remembering Remus touching Sirius’ lips softly a few hours before.

“Oh, shut up and let’s go!”

They opened the door and went outside, only to find two dementors sliding in the corridor. They took what were apparently very deep breaths, their putrid hands reaching out in the air, making Remus dizzy and cold. However, his grim took them both out before the silvery falcon could reach them.

“Your Padfoot is kind of greedy, ain’t he? Oh, don’t worry,” she said, looking at Remus’ desperate face. “I won’t tell a soul! Geez, it’s almost like you’re more afraid of me telling someone than you are of the dementors.”

“Fine, make fun, as long as you don’t tell anyone.” He said, putting up his ‘ha-ha, very funny’ face. “If you’re done teasing me, let’s go to the other wagons. There must be more dementors.”

“Maybe we should split up. We’ll cover more ground.” The girl said, thinking.

“Yeah, but what happens if they get one of us? No, I think it’s better if we stay together,” he replied, no longer wondering why he was better that Lilly in Defense Against the Dark Arts.

“Oh. Very well, let’s get moving then.”

* * *

Meanwhile, the battle was reaching its peak outside the train.

Minerva McGonagall, the Transfiguration teacher, was facing two Death Eaters alone. If she remembered their voices well from their time in Hogwarts, they were Allecto and Nott. Both dark wizards kept firing jinxes, but these were being rendered harmless by McGonagall’s defensive spells. They were simply disappearing in thin air. Grinning, the professor waved her wand, letting out a jet of red light.

Horatio Slughorn, the Potions master, was facing himself another three Death Eaters. Obviously he got three of the ungifted ones, since despite his presenting a rather large target, most of their curses were missing, even if only by a few inches. Smiling Slughorn decided to simply take out one by one.

On the other side of the Hogwarts Express stood Alphard Black, Sirius’ uncle and Hogwart’s Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher; by his side he had a couple of aurors. They were, however, fighting seven of Voldemort’s followers. Alphard took out three of them easily, but was then hit by a Killing Curse, conjured by no other than his niece, Bellatrix Lestrange. Her husband, however, was hit by one of the aurors along with most of the other Death Eaters. In her rage, she quickly got rid of the auror that dared stupify her husband, and, now alone, was facing the other auror, who was no one less than Alastor Moody.

While the fight happened outside, Filius Flitwick, the Charms professor, was helping three of the minister’s magical engineers, to get the Express moving as soon as possible. They did find a few dementors on the way, but Fliwick’s patronus, a huge dove that was bigger than its creator, scared them away. The work on the train’s magical engine was not simple. Voldemort had drained its magical power and destroyed a few of the pistons. Flitwick conjured a few spare parts and left the engineers to work, telling them to call if they needed anything.

Finally, there was Albus Dumbledore by the first wagon of the train. His hair was not yet completely silver, one could see a light auburn color on the tips of his waist-length hair and beard. His face was frowned with effort, but didn’t show hate or disgust towards the person (if one dared call him that) he was fighting but only a fierce determination. His whole body was exuding an aura of power few would dare to challenge.

One of these few was the one facing him now. Tom Servolo Riddle, also known as Lord Voldemort, the most powerful Dark Lord the world had produced to that day. His face was no longer human: his pupils were long and thin like a cat’s, his nose had disappeared, giving place to reptilian nostrils, his skin was pale and yet reptilian somehow. Dumbledore always thought it looked rather like a poorly transfigurated snake.

Voldemort was launching spell after spell at Dumbledore, who kept dodging or blocking them.

“You can’t keep dodging forever, Dumbie,” Voldemort hissed, his pupils as thin as ever.

“Yes Tom, I believe you are quite right,” Dumbledore spoke calmly. At a wave of his wand, an incredibly luminous jet of blue light was hurled at Riddle. He disapparated hastily; the spell hit a tree behind him. It was quickly covered in ice. However, Dumbledore knew better than allow him to apparate behind him. Waving his wand as the Dark Lord disapparated, he forced him to apparate at the same spot a few moments later. Unfortunately, his first spell was already past Voldemort’s position.

“Oh, Dumbie, I think you hit the wrong place by mistake. So sorry…” the Lord said, with irony.

“Oh yes. About that. Well, I shan’t allow you to run again, I believe.” While the champion of the Light said that he held his wand like a whip, forcing what looked like a flaming rope to curl around Voldemort's body. The rope burnt through his vests and hit skin painfully, forcing Voldemort to let out a moan of pain. He, however, was able to transfigurate the rope into a snake.

Dumbledore was, again, one step ahead. With only one wave of his wand, the snake was shredded and Voldemort was thrown away at the same tree that was covered in ice by his opponent’s spell. Voldemort heard the sound of breaking ribs and felt the equivalent pain.

“Surrender now Tom. It is clear that continuing this fight will do you no good,” Dumbledore said as if talking about his favorite color. The train had, by now, started moving again. Voldemort clearly lost, not only the battle with Dumbledore but also the chance to attack the students. Waving his wand up in one last spell, he disapparated.

All stars in the sky had suddenly become green, as the result of Voldemort’s spell performed before he disapparated. It was the retreat signal. Bellatrix, who was still fighting Moody grabbed her husband’s and another Death Eater’s limp bodies and disapparated with them. All the other Death Eaters had been defeated either by the Hogwarts’ professors or by the aurors. They were immediately taken to Azkaban to await trial.

The First Great War of the wizarding world against Voldemort had started.

* * *

N/A: So, what do you think? Review and let me know. I don’t mind small reviews,   
you know… :)


	4. Hogwarts, Finally

**Disclaimer** : Again, I know how surprised everyone will be after hearing this, but, NO, I do NOT own Harry Potter or its characters. Also, I am NOT having any profit as a result of using them in this story.

****

* * *

**Hogwarts, Finally**

Remus and Lilly kept using their patronuses to take dementors out in every one of the wagons until, in the second one of the train, they met Flitwick and his silvery dove. Most of the wagons had only a pair of the dark creatures.

When they met the Charms master, they told him what happened, and how they decided to go through the train to help in the battle, at least by finishing the dementors of. The small man remained quiet most of the time, but he held an expression that now flickered between respect and admiration. Finally, he asked them to help him wake up the students, which, apparently, had been “mass-stupified”. The professor said that a simple _Enervate_ in each student would be enough. He also told them that they should provide no explanation: Dumbledore would do that upon arrival at Hogwarts.

Nodding to Flitwick, Remus and Lilly started to go into every other cabin to wake the students (they were taking the ones on the right, Flitwick the ones on the left). As requested, every question about what had happened was answered by a “We are not to say anything, Dumbledore will explain at Hogwarts”; or, by the time they were tired of explaining (which happened quickly), by a “We don’t know”. Every now and then they found someone that was still suffering the effects of the dementors; luckily, almost everybody had bought at least a few chocolate frogs, so Remus was able to instruct their friends to force some into their throats.

In the end, they reached the last wagon, where James, Peter and Sirius were still unconscious. Lilly paused before entering the cabin, seeing Remus’ expression (which was full of fear for his friends and worry for the recipient of his new passion) with a hint of amusement. “Well, let’s go in, **Remmy** (the boy flinched, Sirius came up with the nickname that very day). I’ll take James and Peter, you handle Sirius,” she said, grinning widely, trying to make her friend relax.

It was quite clear to Remus now that Lilly was too perceptive for her own good. How that girl got so good at seeing right through him? Was he that obvious? Oh, well. _Focus in the task at hand. Go wake Sirius._

Remus closed in on Sirius. Something was wrong. The werewolf couldn’t feel any heat coming from his friend’s body. He was too cold, his face was too pale, the skin under his fingernails were too bluish, his clothes were a bit damp with sweat. The once beautiful, silky hair was plastered in his face from cold sweat, and his lips were thin and purplish, so unlike those full pinkish-red lips he usually wore. “ _Enervate_ ,” Remus murmured, hoping it was just a normal reaction of Sirius’ to the dementors, that there was nothing to worry about.

The spell worked, Sirius was waking. But he started shaking uncontrollably and opened his mouth, but no sound left his throat. It scared Remus. No. It utterly terrified the lycanthrope. Lilly turned to them. She had just finished waking the other boys up, they too were getting worried.

“I need chocolate **now!** ” Remus blurted, now his own hands slightly shaking, fearing for Sirius. His love. Unfortunately, there was no chocolate to be found. _Damn Peter and his stomach_ , Remus thought. Looking around like a madman, he tried to get some chocolate out of nowhere, but there was none to be found.

“Don’t worry Moony,” James said, suddenly getting up. “I will conjure some chocolate. I just hope conjured chocolate works.” And with a wave of his wand a small bar of chocolate appeared out of thin air. “Sorry mate, that’s the best I can do.”

Remus quickly got the candy out of his friend’s hands and stashed it in Sirius mouth, performing a Force Swallowing spell. Sirius’ body became limp, but his skin was still very pale. Suddenly he moved his arms around Remus, making the light brown-haired boy blush heavily. “Stop. Make ‘em stop, Moony. Don’t let them continue. I-I can’t… They will…”

“Shh. It’s alright. I’m with you now.” The werewolf started rocking the animagus back and forth, while whispering comforting words in his ears. Remus wished he could stay there forever. His heart was beating heavier than ever, his pupils were so wide he thought he could be blinded by even the dimmest of lights, his arms were tightening around Sirius with all of his strength, holding his friend like he was all there was in the world. He was, however, brought back by Lilly loudly kissing James’ cheeks, spreading her kisses all around his face.

“Don’t you ever scare me like that again!” James, though, had better plans than having pecks in his cheeks, and kissed Lilly passionately. At first, the girl tried to fight him, but she had no choice when James’ tongue slipped through her lips, forcing her to moan slightly and her own tongue to play around with the uninvited intruder. After what seemed like ages (despite only a few seconds having passed) they separated.

“I knew you would come realize your undying love for me sooner or later!” He said excited. She, on the other hand, did not like the remark, and (again loudly) slapped him in the face.

“You-you… Arghhh!” She managed to mumble before violently opening the door and leaving. But before leaving she sent a significant look to Remus. He was still holding Sirius tightly, and had no intention of letting go. She couldn’t help but feel good for his friend that, at least, got to cuddle with Sirius, something that he would never be able to do in a normal circumstance.

“Wait, Lilly. Can you go to Prof. Flitwick and get more chocolate for Sirius?” Remus asked, his voice having a pleading note and his face having that ‘I-need-love-please-give-me-love’ puppy expression. The lycanthrope knew Lilly well enough to be able to tell that she could not say no to the conjunct effect of voice and face. “Fine!” She said, simply.

* * *

After a few more bites to the chocolate, Sirius was back to his former self, and   
hastily threw himself away from Remus’ embrace. Remus had to hold himself from   
whining from the separation; he wanted more time like that. But, eventually, he   
was able to get a grip.

“So… Are you feeling better? You… uhn… kinda scared me.”

“Sorry,” Sirius said, his voice was still a bit shaky, but seeming otherwise fine. “What happened?”

Remus opened his mouth to answer, but James beat him to it. “Voldemort attacked the express. He stupified us and put a bunch of dementors to watch us after.”

“And? I mean, we are not in heaven or something right? Who stopped him?”

James, not knowing the answer fully himself, simply turned to Remus.

“Well, the Hogwarts’ teachers came and fought Voldemort and his Death Eaters. And the dementors were- uhn- scared away.” Remus said the last part blushing slightly. But he didn’t expect Lilly to be hearing everything from the door.

“Stop being so bloody humble Remus! We, single-handedly, used our patronuses to scare the dementors away. And turning into a tomato won’t change what you’ve done,” she added, seeing the werewolf violently flush at being caught lying. _Not lying, withhelding the truth. Yes, withhelding the truth is not that bad._

James turned to Lilly, with a wide grin. “So **you** saved **me**? I knew it! You couldn’t bear to see me suffering! You had to save the love of your li-” The boy was interrupted by the loud slap he received from a very angry Lilly. “Just so you know,” she replied, “I didn’t want to save **you**! I wanted to save everyone.” But seeing James still grinning she added, “Especially Sirius. I mean seeing that nice, tanned body shivering and that cute face pale was so depressing...”

Saying that and smiling, she left the room, leaving a James that was about to start crying, a Remus that was about to punch her senseless, a Sirius that couldn’t stop smirking and a Peter that, as usual, wasn’t understanding why everyone was acting so weird.

When the Express reached its destination, there was an enormous bus waiting for the students. Apparently, Dumbledore decided to borrow the Knight bus to take the students to the castle.

Peter actually flinched when he saw the vehicle. “Why do we have to go with **that**?”

James frowned, “Why, have you ever used this thing?”

“Yeah. And, well, I kinda threw up. Er... A few times.”

“Heh, not to worry, lads! The Headmaster told me to give this to everyone! It’s supposed to stop all the vomiting and stuff.” Hagrid’s voice said from behind James

“Hagrid!” They said, collectively.

“Thanks,” they all said, after taking a gulp from a huge jar of orange potion. “Come visit me, it’s been a while!” They nodded entering the Bus.

And it was indeed good that Dumbledore thought of that potion, Remus considered some time later. He had never had such a bumpy, twisted ride, and, considering he lived in a relatively remote farm it was saying something. A hufflepuff actually couldn’t hold himself from puking right into someone’s head, in their hair. In **his** hair. In his greasy, oily hair. In his greasy, oily hair, attached to a head with an unusually long nose. When Lilly saw Severus Snape a second after the incident, she thought she wouldn’t be able to breathe again of laughter. So did Remus. Actually, so did everyone, even the Slytherins.

However, it would be unlikely the potion Slughorn prepared failed. Remus glared intently at James and Sirius, trying to break ‘em into telling which one of them did that. Seeing that that was getting him nowhere, he opened his mouth to speak, but James beat him to it.

“Don’t look at me! If I had thought about it, I would have wanted to throw up in him myself. And Sirius was with me and you the whole time, so I know he didn’t do it.”

“I didn’t do it either.” Peter added, seeing his werewolf friend turning to him.

“Well someone did it. And I’d like to know who, so I could...” he never got to finish his phrase, Sirius’ voice cut right through the middle of the sentence. “Give them a month detention? Tell McGonagall or Dumbledore about them?” Sirius remembered quite well that Remus didn’t like the way they bickered with Snape.

“Actually, I wanted to congratulate them for such a well-done job, and said that I owed them for making me laugh that hard after those dementors.” The other Marauders stared at him, wide-eyed. “What! I do have a sense of humor, you know. And I’m also not the cold-hearted bastard you think I am.”

Remus said the last sentence with such a hurt look and face that a tear rolled through James’ face and Sirius was quickly up, holding him.

“You know we never thought that about you. You are the best of us all, so adorable, and nice, gentle...” Remus was now definitely making weird noises in his chest, he was also shaking uncontrollably. _Great! He thinks we hate him. We made him cry._ Sirius thought.

The lycanthrope, however, pushed him aside, and continued laughing his ass off. “You fell right into it! Oh, Merlin, my guts are sore from this!” James and Sirius both had angry faces for the rest of the trip.

“You’re getting better at this Remus,” said a tall boy with a round face.

“Thanks, Frank”

“By the way, thanks for teaching me that Vomiting hex. I hope you found it amusing.”

“Very much so. Oh, is that Alice you were snogging earlier, or was I mistaken?”

Frank turned red and simply said, “Was that Black you were holding in the train?” Seeing that he reached his objective (Remus flinching) he looked around and said, “Sorry, but I have to go talk with Alice. See ya!”

A heavy silence feel between the marauders, until, eventually, Peter said, “We’re here!” and smiles have made their ways through all of their faces. They were at Hogwarts. Finally.

****__

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	5. The grim-struck grim

**  
**The grim-struck grim** (1) **

Despite his happiness for arriving at his ‘other home’, Remus could not bring himself to be completely happy. Sirius’ great-uncle was one of the two exceptions in the Black family: neither Alphard nor Andromeda hated (or tortured, or ignored, or loathed) the tall youth. The werewolf had to tell Sirius himself. After he had turned into an animagus for him, Remus couldn’t let he find out through Dumbledore, in front of everyone in the Great Hall. He knew Sirius enough to know that he’d crumble, and shake and sob, and all that would only be multiplied if he had to keep it bottled up to look strong.

All the marauders had already gotten up of their seats and were curiously staring at Remus, still seated. “Sorry,” he apologized, getting up, “Got a little bit lost in my thoughts, I guess…”

James grinned. “Alright, we all know that if there’s one thing you do, that is over think.”

Sirius’ eyes narrowed and he slapped the back of his friend’s head, being awarded with an angry look. “Don’t talk to Moony like that!”

“Why not? He is my friend too!”

“That doesn’t give you the right to be a bloody jerk!”

“OH, for Merlin’s sake! Will you shut up if I apologize?” Sirius just nodded. “Fine. I’m sorry Remus.” He really did sound honest.

“It’s alright James, I didn’t get offended.” The lycanthrope then turned to Sirius. “Erm... Thanks. For- you know...”

Sirius nodded, dismissing the subject.

When the marauders left the Knight bus they quickly entered the castle, since the vehicle stopped right by the door. They were walking slowly, James and Sirius were discussing quidditch, while Peter was listening carefully, nodding every time either one of his more intelligent friends finished a sentence. Remus was just being his quiet self, looking around and thinking about how to get Sirius alone before dinner. That had to be done fast, since the four students were reaching the Great Hall.

Remus was spared the trouble of figuring it out when Dumbledore walked by them.

“Mr. Lupin, I will have to ask you to come to my office tomorrow at six o’clock, so that we can discuss the recent events. Miss Evans will be present as well.” He appeared to have finished and, after Remus saying he’d be there, the marauders were about to restart walking. But Dumbledore, looking like he just noticed something, added, “Oh, yes! Mr. Black, could you accompany Mr. Lupin to the transfiguration classroom? There is something I need him to do there.” Saying that, the professor winked to Remus, making sure he understood that what he had to do is exactly what he was planning to do: tell Sirius about the death of his great-uncle.

So both boys nodded and started walking to the second floor, where said room was, missing the suspicious look they were getting from James and the curious one from Peter. They walked quickly and quietly. The unusual silence seemed oddly creepy, the light from the torches and candles illuminating the way flickering from even the smallest of breezes; even their breaths could influence the flames.

Finally, they reached Prof. McGonagall’s classroom. Sirius, who until then remained quiet, decided to break the silence and clarify the situation. “So… Why are we here anyway? What does Dumbledore want you to do?”

Remus’ stomach looped and twisted, its acids reaching dangerously close to the back of his mouth. His heart ached, and his head hurt. The werewolf had no idea how to tell his best friend, the love of his life, that the closest person he had to a father in his family was killed by Death Eaters.

“Remy, are you ok?” Sirius was worried, seeing his friend trembling and very pale.

“N-not really, no. I need to tell you something, Padfoot. Oh, Merlin!” _Now, how the hell does someone break this kind of news?_ “I need you to know that I’m here for you. I’ll always be here for you. If you told me you hate me, I’d still be here.”

“Oh, come on, I’m never-” The tall youth didn’t continue because Remus shushed him.

“Just listen for now, please.” Remus’ look was so incredibly sad, like he was being forced to destroy something he loved, that Sirius hadn’t had the nerves to reply. “I’ll still be here even if you turn into a Death Eater and, regretting your actions, need a shoulder to cry on. I **need** you to know. Promise me you know.”

The eyes of the tawny-haired boy were so pleading. “Remus, you are scaring me.”

“ **Promise**! Promise me you know!”

Now Remus’ eyes were definitely watery. “I promise. I always knew and will always remember that. Keep in mind that I feel the same way towards you.”

“Of course. That’s why I have to tell you this myself. So, here goes nothing. Your great-uncle Alphard was in the battle against the Death Eaters, a few hours ago, when you were all fainted. He- One of the Death Eaters… Oh, Sirius, he is dead. I’m so, so sorry!”

Sirius was shocked. Uncle Alphard was such a strong wizard. He would probably only loose to Dumbledore and, maybe, Voldemort, in the matter of knowledge and fighting ability. He was also so very kind and affectionate with him. Like a sort of father. How could he be gone?

“How… Who… What?” Sirius was mumbling, tears leaking from his eyes. Remus heart had just cracked a little.

“Sirius… I- Come here!” He said, moving to embrace the other student, pressing the black-haired youth’s head into his chest, his left arm around his waist, his right arm patting Sirius’ hair and back. Remus allowed them to collapse on the floor, using all his might to make the fall as soft as possible. The soothing words the werewolf was speaking held no coherence. He just wanted to wrap Sirius in a blanket of warmth and love and support. Eventually (Remus lost track of time), he started rocking back and forth with Sirius in his arms, the front of his robes warm and wet.

* * *

Remus didn’t know for how long they stayed there, but now he could see tinge of   
clarity in the horizon through the window. Soon the sun would rise and they   
couldn’t stay in a classroom anymore. So, reluctantly, he forced himself and   
Sirius to get up. The black-haired man’s face looked up form the werewolf’s   
chest, but the latter shushed him gently.

“Don’t worry, Pads. Let’s just move to the Room of Requirement, Ok? I’ll stay with you as long as it takes.”

“T-Thanks,” was all the other youth could say.

They walked slowly, Sirius still clutched to Remus. Upon reaching the place, the door was already there, without any of them having to think of a place. Carefully, they walked in.

“Hello, boys! I was expecting you.” It was Dumbledore. Sirius tried to unbury his head from Remus’ chest, but the werewolf’s hands had already surrounded his head and his waist in an incredibly protective manner. He felt so safe!

Seeing that he had no response, the Headmaster said, “Oh, don’t worry, Mr. Lupin. I just came to say that you are excused of lessons for as long as needed. I will tell Mr. Potter and Mr. Pettigrew to take notes for you. However, I would like to remind you of our appointment today at six o’clock. There is a clock on that lovely desk.” With that, for the first time Remus looked around at the room. It was exactly as his bedroom back home, except that both the room and the furniture were slightly larger. His jaw dropped. _How can Dumbledore know about my room?_

The professor’s twinklish eyes blinked at him and then he left leaving Sirius and Remus alone. The tawny-haired man quickly led Sirius to the enlarged bed, laying both of them down on it. He gave his love some pecks on the top of his head. The werewolf’s hands were also caressing his friend’s back gently.

They laid there for quite sometime, and Sirius had already fallen asleep, when Remus caught a glimpse of the clock showing the hour of five thirty-six. He had no choice but to leave Sirius. Thinking about writing a note to him, he found parchment, ink and a few quills at the same desk where the clock was. So he wrote his note.

‘ _Dear Sirius,_

_I have to go meet Dumbledore. I hope you don’t wake up while I’m there, but if you do, be sure that I’ll try to be back ASAP. I have put a Proteus spell on the sickle on the nightstand. If you need me, just touch it with your wand and its pair will warm up in my pocket._

At that point, Remus had to think. He wanted to write it; after all, there were so many different types of it. Yes, he’d write it.

‘ _I love you, keep that in mind._

_My thoughts are with you,_

_Remus._ ’

He blew on the parchment to force the ink to dry and left it on the nightstand. The lycanthrope left after giving Sirius a goodbyeish peck on the right cheek.

* * *

(1): For those of you who didn’t get it for English not being your mother   
tongue: Sirius turns into a big black dog, very much like the big black dog that   
represents death (see Prisoner of Azkaban). So, in other words, the title is   
‘The death-struck dog’. Hope this explanation wasn’t too idiotic! ;)

**NA: I think this chap is kind of melodramatic… So, sorry about that. I’ve been having kind of a writer’s block on this story. Hopefully after this chap. it will pass. Please review and leave your impressions, and if you have the time, visit my other story! It was supposed to be a oneshot Sirry (Sirius/Harry), but now it will be a full-blown story. Thanks for sticking with me!**


	6. The Wolf's Loyalty

A/N: First of all: Sorry, sorry, sorry it took me so long. That writer’s block decided to settle in my brain, so I decided to post even if the chapter was small. Also, I will rebuild the first chapter, since making a physical description of the characters completely slipped my mind. I’ll put it up when I update the next chapter 

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**The Wolf’s Loyalty**

Remus arrived quickly at Dumbledore’s office. The headmaster told him to seat, but they had to wait for Miss Evans to arrive as well. She only did arrive some 15 minutes later, flushed and with messed hair.

The werewolf raised an eyebrow to his friend, but she dismissed it with her hand. “Sorry professor,” she said simply, not offering any excuse whatsoever, though Remus could think of a certain James Potter who was probably enjoying himself immensely right now.

“Well, Miss Evans, I certainly do not mind of your late arrival, but I am fairly sure that Remus does not share this feeling. Also, I cannot dodge from my responsibility as your teacher. Therefore, five points from Gryffindor.” The girl looked mildly embarrassed, but Dumbledore held a caring smile and continued in a calm tone. “Well, with that out of our way, I’m sure you are wondering why I asked you to come meet me, correct?”

Remus shifted in his seat. Sirius needed him, he couldn’t afford to loose time, and with that in mind, he had to ‘force’ Dumbledore to begin already; the headmaster was known to run around the subject on occasion. “Errr- Not really, sir. You certainly want to explain us why we were not mass-stupified like everyone else in the train and might want to know what exactly did we see while the others were unconscious.”

The old man cocked an eyebrow. “Indeed Mr. Lupin. Worry not, dear boy, this shall not take much time.” _Nothing gets past him_ , Remus thought. “So, let us first enter the subject of why you, of all people in the Hogwarts Express, resisted a spell performed by no other than Voldemort himself.” Dumbledore looked at his students. “No winces? Good!

“You see, the explanation for Mr. Lupin is quite simple. Since he is a werewolf, he tends to be immune to mass-curses in general. The magic of the wolf allows for that type of protection: curses must be directed at him to work properly. No problem there.

“But Miss Evans has no such natural protection. So, why would she as well be immune to the spell? I did a bit of research on my own, which, if I may say, is saying quite a lot. Some werewolves have an ability to- well; envelop people in their protection. Those are the so-called ‘Alpha-material werewolves’. They have this ability as a form of protecting anyone they consider to be in their pack and in need of protection.

“Am I correct to consider you showed some form of fragility to Mr. Lupin earlier that day, Miss Evans?”

Lilly flushed a bit, but when she opened her mouth her voice was steady. “Yes sir. My sister… Errr, she was somewhat-” She paused to think of the best word. “Aggressive towards me during this break. I talked to Remus in the train and he- helped me to steady myself.”

_Great! Another thing I didn’t know about myself. So, now I’m the gay, Alpha-material werewolf with a crush on his best friend. Just what I wanted to be!_ Remus said, his face betraying a bit of his unease with the news.

Dumbledore’s eyes twinkled, like every time he found himself to be right. “Mr. Lupin then protected you by sharing his protection, since he saw your fragility at the moment. You should be proud, Miss Evans. That means he considers you a very close friend, almost his family. Only at that level of closeness does a werewolf share his protection.”

Lilly turned to her friend with watery eyes. “Oh Remus,” she said, before crushing him in her arms. The werewolf remained in her arms for quite a while, and he was starting to have trouble breathing, until Dumbledore interfered, coughing to get their attention. Remus sent him an appreciative look.

“On a closely related matter, it has been decided that both of you will be awarded a special prize for special services to this school andprotecting your fellow students. Your courage will be noted in your files and in your yearbook.” He paused for a few seconds. “I am very proud of both of you.”

Both Remus’ and Lilly’s hearts swelled to twice their size at those words, and they thanked the headmaster simultaneously. The older man smiled and dismissed them gently.

* * *

It didn’t take long for Remus to get rid of Lilly and get back to the   
Requirement Room. Wishing it to be the same place he left Sirius in, he entered.

“Hey.” Sirius was already up. His eyes were red and swollen, and the path of the tears was still clear in his face.

“Hey. Are you feeling any better?”

“A bit, thanks.”

“Err. Do you want me to get some food?”

Sirius smiled for the first time since he found out. “Well, considering we **are** at the Room of Requirement, I just have to imagine any kind of food and it will appear. Though I was waiting for you so we could eat together. You haven’t eaten for as long as myself.”

_I guess he’s better than I imagined._ “I know. And what exactly do you want to eat, Mr. Padfoot?”

“Well, I- I’m not really hungry... Why don’t you choose?”

_Or not so much._ “Alright. Why not something utterly unhealthy? Cheeseburgers with fries and ice cream for desert!”

Sirius seemed to beam at the prospect. “With chocolate topping?”

The werewolf smiled sexily. “With any and everything you want.” That made the animagus blush violently.

“Deal.” And they started to eat the food that miraculously appeared on the table.

* * *

Three days had passed since then. When Remus and Sirius appeared back at the   
Common Room after their private lunch, there were no questions asked. Right   
after the black-haired animagus peaked his head in the Gryffindor Tower, James   
threw himself at him in a rib-breaking hug that lasted well over ten minutes.   
Sirius even earned a comforting peck on the cheek from Lilly, before the girl   
threw herself at Remus, thanking him (apparently, it took a while for her to   
process the whole ‘Remus protected me on the train’ thing). All in all, after   
that, Remus was jealous because of James, James was jealous because of Sirius,   
Sirius was jealous because of Lilly, and Peter, again, stood there, oblivious to   
the reason why his friends were all now glaring at each other.

The next day, Remus woke up early (as usual), and, after having breakfast, ran into Sirius on his way back to the tower.

Sirius was rather flushed at the sight of the tawny-haired boy. “Hullo, Rem.”

Remus looked a bit flustered as well, but the animagus couldn’t tell if it was from running into him or from the quick pace he was using to walk before. “Hey. Going to breakfast?”

Sirius leaned his head on his own shoulder. “Actually, I was looking for you. I already told the others when I got the letter a few minutes ago. I have to go home, for the reading of his will.”

“Oh. Alright. You’re leaving now?”

Sirius nodded. Remus hugged him tightly and asked him to use the charmed sickle to let him know if he needed anything. With another nod, his blue-eyed friend went on his way to Dumbledore’s office.

* * *

The next morning Remus woke up from the burning coin in his pocket and the sound   
of Sirius’ voice screaming ‘ _Remus!_ ’ in his head.

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**Hope it's not TOO much of a cliffhanger...**

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	7. Lucifer and her Four Horsewomen

**A/N: Hi you all. Sorry for the small chapter, but I think it was necessary. All the new Black family names are star’s names, ok? And sorry for the cliffhanger in the last chapter. Oh, and I’ll start reforming the first chapter as soon as I put this one on.**

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**Lucifer and Her Four Horsewomen**

Sirius arrived at Grimmauld Place in mid-afternoon, at the exact time he was requested to be there (since we all know how much time he wants to spend around his family). He didn’t even shake when he reached the mansion’s fireplace, and aristocratically left it.

Apparently the whole family was there, probably trying to increase their personal fortunes by adding some of Alphard’s large patrimony. Sirius could see his beloved mother smirking at him and his 4 cousins Bellatrix, Narcissa, Adhara and Shaula. All four of them were glaring with their pale blue eyes. The animagus decided that they definitely earned his nickname for them: the four horsewomen of Apocalypse. He couldn’t help but grin at them with this thought. Also there, hiding behind his mother, was Regulus, Sirius’ brother, and Andromeda, in a corner, holding her daughter Nymphadora.

Ignoring all others, Sirius made a beeline towards Andromeda, his dear Andy, the last of the descent Blacks excluding himself. He hugged her as tight as he could, considering the existence of a 1-year-old baby between them.

“I missed you so much, Andy,” he whispered, kissing her cheek.

“I missed you too, Sear. Nymphie here missed you too! Her father was outraged when her second word, after mommy, was Siri!” Andy laughed.

“Of course! She’s a marauder, that one!” he said, looking lovingly at the baby, who found a way to grab his finger and was now playing with it. “Although after he insisted on naming her **Nymphadora** , I think he deserves that.”

Andromeda slapped his arm. “Sirius Orion Black!”

But before she could continue, a cough was heard. When they turned around from talking to each other, they saw a goblin waiting with a pieceof parchment in his hands.

“Well, now that I have your attention, I’ll start reading the will of Alphard Cepheus Black, former Hogwarts’ Defense against the Dark Arts teacher. The division of his assets is quite simple: One third of his fortune is to go to Andromeda Alhena Black, as well as the house located outside of Glasgow. The rest of the assets are to be given to Sirius Orion Black, who will also receive the status of emancipated.” At hearing all of this, Sirius and Andy just gaped, while the others looked indignant. “That means he is no longer under the care of his parents; however, the prohibition of underage magic still stands. That would be all,” the goblin ended.

“Outrageous! I will have none of that!” Mrs. Black (as in Sirius mother) yelled, pointing her wand threateningly towards the goblin.

“Ma’am, if you dare using your magic against a goblin you will fall under section 56-B of the Goblin Protection Act. And I assure you that being a Black will **not** allow you to escape punishment, much like being the wife of Salazar Slytherin did not save Sischelgaita Slytherin from Azkaban.” At that, the woman lowered her wand. “Very good. I shall be going then. Good day,” the goblin said, before disapparating.

“You six!” Mrs. Black said. “Go back to where you came from! Sirius will stay here, for I have unfinished business with him,” she said, and, with a wave of her wand, she cast a full body-bind hex in Sirius.

“I won’t let you!” Andy objected.

“Oh, but you will. Otherwise I will be forced to... purify the Black family blood by erasing this mudblood baby from existence!”

Reluctantly, fearing for her baby, Andromeda disapparated, but only to get to Hogwarts to speak with the headmaster, the only one she thought that could save Sirius.

But, as the third Cruciatus he received lifted the binding spell, Sirius was able to touch a coin in his pocket with his wand, while desperately thinking about Remus. As the torture continued, Sirius wondered why these Cruciatus hurt so much less than he remembered, and, just before he passed out, he remembered that a true Cruciatus was supposed to keep you awake in your suffering.

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	8. The Dog, The Wolf and The Bitch

**A/N: Hey people. Back to my every-two-week updating, I guess. Hope you enjoy this! Also, Hermione asked me to tell you to remember that only a wizard can’t apparate at Hogwarts. And, finally, I haven’t had time to reform the first chapter, but I will do it. I hope… Err, let the show continue!**

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**The Dog, The Wolf and The Bitch.**

Remus couldn’t remember much of what happened after he got up frantically searching for someone who could help him. All he knew is that now he was barefooted in front of the headmaster, his feet having, apparently, left a bloody trail in his path, for he didn’t stop to slip something on them. Professor McGonagall was beside him, looking worried; however, her worries were not directed towards Sirius, but towards himself. Since the werewolf didn’t know if he had explained his teacher anything, he didn’t bother with her staring.

A heavy silence lingered for a few seconds before Remus opened his mouth to speak. The headmaster, as usual, beat him to it. “What happened Remus? It is awfully early for even you to be up.”

“Professor, we need to go to Grimmauld Place. Sirius- His mother is doing something to him. I **heard** him screaming. In my head! And I gave him a coin with a Temperature-Proteus spell, and it woke me up, burning. We have to go!” The last part was said in an almost scream.

Dumbledore was startled, but his expression darkened, showing he understood the gravity of the situation. “Very well. I shall go see what’s happening.” Seeing Minerva’s disbelieving face he added, “Mister Lupin is probably correct Minerva, but how he attained this knowledge I cannot discuss at the moment. Stay here with him.”

_What does he mean by stay here with **him**? I am **not** staying here!_ He opened his mouth to protest, but decided there was no time. As Dumbledore was touching Fawkes to side-apparate with the creature, Remus shrugged McGonagall’s hand from his shoulder and ran to touch Fawkes as well. Suddenly, he was enveloped by flames and then, there was only darkness around him.

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Remus, Dumbledore and Fawkes appeared at an entrance hall. It was... well the only word was _exquisite_. The floor was marbled, with an enormous Persian rug in the middle. The side-window was covered by black velvet curtains, with details in pure gold. Actually, the very wallpaper had stripes of pure silver and gold. But Remus didn’t care. All he cared about was what could be heard coming from the living room ahead.

A tall, elegant woman was slapping an unconscious Sirius, who was seated in a chair. Remus felt everything leave his body. All though and rationale, pain and pleasure, black and white, light and darkness. There was only rage and blood and strength. And Sirius. His Sirius.

He leapt on the woman, being able, somehow, to cut the many meters that separated him from his target. She didn’t stand a chance. The lycanthrope hands were around her neck, and he carried her towards the nearest wall, that he used to support his victim and push her back into it. Her wand was in her hand, but Remus’ knee quickly literally crushed the hand against the hard wall. A scream and the sound of breaking bones echoed through the house, and then one could only hear the sound of the witch’s blood dripping on the floor from a disfigured hand.

Remus pressed harder on her neck, making her gawk. Dumbledore, seeing this, intervened. “That’s enough Remus!” And he waved his wand letting out an _Expelliarmus_ spell.

The gryffindor heard the buzz of the spell getting near. But no! Nothing would interfere! It just clicked, his magic connected with his second nature, and he, almost unconsciously, waved his free hand. The spell went right back to Dumbledore, forcing his wand to fly away from him.

Never had the old wizard encountered such a situation. Because he couldn’t exude his power. No, the room was already filled with raw, sheer power. And it wasn’t his. That paralyzed him. Never, never, had he felt overpowered by someone.

Remus opened his mouth, and when he spoke, the voice was deep, hoarse and threatening. “ **Never** hurt any of my friends again, or you will be begging for _Cruciatus_ when I’m done.” Again, his hands tightened their grip on her neck; and only when calloused hands touched his arm, only when a trembling figure spoke slowly and low in his ears, did he let go.

“Remmy. She’s not worthy. I’m alright now. You can let her go.” And the woman fell to the floor with a thump.

“Sirius…” The werewolf whispered. “I was so worried. So worried.” And he held his friend tightly.

Dumbledore, snapping out of his trance, got his wand and pointed it towards Mrs. Black. “ _Rennervate!_ Well, Mrs. Black, if any of what happened here gets out, I will be forced to denounce and sue you for the way you treated your son. And, might I add, that the last time a member of the Wizengammot lost a process he was pursuing, Merlin was just a little baby,” then he turned towards his students: “Let us leave this place. Fawkes!”

Again, flames surrounded Remus, but he couldn’t help but pass out in the arms of his best friend.

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His feet hurt. A lot. But there was this warm weight in his lap, and he had to know what it was, so he opened his eyes. His first sight was Sirius' handsome face staring back at him.

“Good morning WonderWolf. How are you?” Sirius asked, concern etching his face.

“Sore. My feet hurt.”

“I know. Dumbledore said you ran barefooted all over the Castle and that when you passed the Potion’s lab, there were some broken vials on the floor.” The animagus lifted his head and his hands started stroking the tawny hair of his friend. “Sorry. It was my fault.”

Remus raised a hand, dismissively. “Don’t you dare Padfoot! It was not your fault, but that… that…”

“Whore's? Hag's? Bitch's?” Sirius offered, grinning.

“All of the above,” Remus said returning the grin. Suddenly he shivered. “It’s cold.”

Sirius looked at him affectionately. “Yeah. Scoot over,” the dog-animagus said, laying at the bed and throwing blankets around them and his arms around Remus. The werewolf snuggled into the inviting chest, inhaling Sirius’ scent and dozing off quickly.

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**A/N: Hehe, I think you’ve had enough cliffhangers, so, I decided to end this more smoothly.**

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	9. Because some friends care...

**A/N: It's been a while... I know. But since my other story receives more response, I give it more of my time.**

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**Because some friends care...**

“How dare you, you chauvinistic, insensitive, moronic, womanizer-” the loud sound of a slap followed. “If you dare say that to me again, I will make sure you make a pretty little eunuch!”

_Three, two, one..._

The dorm room burst open, letting in a flustered James. In his face one could easily distinguish the red outline of a hand imprinted. “Remus, can you tell me the meaning of...” he was cut by Remus before he could continue.

“Chauvinistic means you’re a man who thinks that he is better than women,” Remus simplified, for James better understanding. “Eunuch is a castrated man that were used by some kings for- err... I assume you can guess.”

“Oh,” James said, crestfallen.

Remus had been witnessing James and Lily sparring since... well, since the two set eyes on each other, really. But since he came back from the hospital wing a few days before (with strict orders for a three-day bed rest), it was becoming more and more exaggerated. The lycanthrope couldn’t help but feel bad for his male friend: maybe, in the beginning, he was just trying to annoy the red-head, but now he genuinely liked — maybe loved — her. However James had the tact of a stomping elephant on a glass floor, and he couldn’t help but ruin all the talks he had with the girl.

Since he couldn’t get up, Remus beckoned James to sit beside him on his bed. The tawny-haired youth loved James very much, like a brother. The tall gryffindor was his first friend on Hogwarts (since Sirius was forced by his mother into a cabin with Narcissa in his first ride to the school), the first one to reassure him of his lycanthropy not being a problem. Sirius and James were probably closer, but James and Remus shared a silent pact to always be there for each other, sealed when, one night, the werewolf cried on the quidditch captain’s shoulder about the rejection of his disease and his tall friend cried on his shoulder for the death of his cousin in the hands of the Death Eaters. It had been the night Remus was confronted about his condition, and the owl bearing the news to James had tapped the window after a pregnant silence between the two. Only he and James were in the dorm, the raven-haired boy not having told anybody about his discovery, but convincing Remus to share it with Sirius and Remus. So many years have passed since then...

When James finally sat down next to his friend, Remus immediately wrapped an arm around the other boy’s shoulder, squeezing it lightly, while James buried his head in the crook of Remus’s neck. “I’m sorry, James.”

“Not your fault,” was the muffled answer he received, followed by a sniff. Now, he wouldn’t let James be that way. Remus had decided, when he finally made friends with Lily, that he would stay neutral in this little vendetta thing they had going. But he knew now that what James was feeling was real and he also knew that Lily did have a thing for James.

“Don’t worry. I... I will help you.” James looked at his friend, wide-eyed at the intervention. “Oh, don’t you think that it’ll be that easy,” the werewolf warned, “ ‘cuz if you hurt Lily, **I** will have your balls served to a manticore as snack!”

Despite this warning James gave Remus a look full of affection and gratitude. “Noted. I **am** serious about her, Moony.”

Remus tried to keep a solemn face, but it soon broke into a smile and squeezed James’ shoulder with one arm, while ruffling the wild hair with the other. “I know that, you daft! Do you really think I would be helping you otherwise?”

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It was a good talk, Remus concluded later. He found in James an eager listener, that hanged to every word he said. Some of his advice was on the obvious side: **not** to just go and steal kisses from her without permission, **not** to call her anything that she doesn’t like (especially fire head, that she found particularly offensive), etc... Some other were on the fine points of Lily’s likings, such as her favorite color, flower, food; all those things that being one of the most popular guys in Hogwarts James usually **didn’t** have to know to get a date. Of course, as a good friend of the girl, Remus hid some things from the quidditch captain.

Now he was sitting in an armchair in the common room, watching the interaction between James and Lily. Remus’ advice obviously paid off, since they were both smiling and talking and there was no screaming or slapping. Eventually, they both turned and walked up to Remus, the girl bearing a shy smile, James grinning like a madman.

“Got yourselves a hot date?” the werewolf asked, smiling himself.

“Yes, well...” the red-head started, but James cried a “Yes!” and gave the girl a peck on the cheek. However, remembering what Remus said earlier, he blushed and murmured, “Sorry.”

Lily just smiled and gave the boy a kiss of her own. “I don’t mind,” she murmured as well.

Remus, watching their behavior, sighed and said loudly, “You are completely and utterly hopeless!”

Lily glared at him. “Oh, do shut up!”

The lycanthrope just smiled, jumped a little at a thought that crossed his mind and said, “I demand to be the ring-bearer!”

“The what?” Lily asked.

“The ring-bearer. On a wizard wedding, there’s a person that is entrusted with the rings, the ring-bearer. You still have the best man and the maid of honor, but they are there as witnesses of the union for each part. Their role, at least theoretically, is to ensure that either the groom or the bride are not being forced into anything and are treated fairly,” Remus explained, in his usual professorial tone. “But the bearer acts as a person both of them trust, that will be witness and guardian of the union itself,” he finished.

“Oh,” Lily said, “well, of course you will be-” she interrupted herself, realizing she just ignored the true meaning of what her friend said. “Hopefully, my future fiancé will like you when I introduce the two of you,” she finished, correcting herself.

James just nudged her and said, “I’ll ignore that last part because you just imagined us as a couple, getting married.”

The red-haired girl opened her mouth to retort, but found that there wasn’t really anything she could say. She had just agreed to go out with James, finally allowing the wall she built around herself against the tall boy to fall to pieces at his feet. So, she just pecked him on the cheek and left, smiling as she felt his gaze following her lithe form through the dorm’s stairs.

When he was able to unglue his eyes from Lily’s retreating form, he looked at Remus and smirked. “So... What about you?”

“Huh?” Remus answered, confused.

“Well, aren’t there any girls on your mind?” he clarified, wiggling his eyebrows.

“No girl,” the lycanthrope answered earnestly before he could stop himself., and then covered his mouth with his hands.

James eyebrows froze at their movement. “My, my. Can’t really say I blame you, though,” he said, looking again at the stairs leading to the girls’ dorms. “Women can be tough.” Remus just nodded, his eyes full of gratitude, James squeezing his shoulder reassuringly. “Well, then. Who’s this boy?”

At that moment, Sirius decided to barge in through the portrait hole, a hufflepuff blonde hanging from his left arm. When Remus looked at the scene his jaw became rigid and he clenched his hands painfully, his fingernails tearing at skin. Ignoring his friend’s last question, Remus just got up and climbed the stairs, as the girl started to try to get Sirius to kiss her.

James, whose eyes widened in recognition, decided to intervene, “I’m sorry, but the common room is for gryffindors only. If you don’t leave,” he said, pointing to the girl, “I’ll be forced to call Prof. McGonagall.” The girl pouted a lot, but eventually nodded and left.

Sirius thought James had seen his look, considering he really didn’t want nothing to do with the girl. He wanted nothing to do with any girl, really. “Thanks mate. She was really...” he stopped as James held his hand up.

“Whatever, Padfoot. I need to see how Moony’s doing.”

Sirius got worried. “What do you mean? Is he ok? Did his cuts opened up again? Damn it, Madam Pomfrey told him he was in bed rest, why did he come down-”

James, however, was too mad at Sirius to listen to his ranting. “Shut up, Sirius. How can you be so clueless? The only thing hurting Moony now are you!”

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